12 reasons why I love the Giants

For me, that means weekends at my two sons' Little League games, but also many hours of watching and listening to San Francisco Giants games over the next six (hopefully seven) months.

It's hard not to like this core of players who have won two World Series titles in the past four years. The franchise has played hard baseball, celebrated diversity, and has treated its fans with grace for more than 100 years.

Here are 12 reasons why I love the Giants:

1. Family ties: Both of my grandfathers were Giants fans. My father was a Giants fans, and my brother and I are Giants fans. We're passing down our love for this team to our kids. It's no secret that baseball allegiances often are instilled through parental guidance. I come from a Giants family.

2. The Thrill: My dad grew up on Mays and McCovey. It's hard to find a Giants fan of my generation, however, who didn't make Will Clark their childhood hero. Slightly off-kilter personality-wise, Clark was a slick-fielding first baseman who brought an intensity to the game that fans could see. He wore it on his face. And, oh, that sweet swing.

3. The broadcast crew: Giants fans are spoiled when it comes to the radio and television voices that we get to listen to. Duane Kuiper, Mike Krukow, Hall-of-Famer Jon Miller and Dave Flemming are all among the best in the business.

4. Phone home: It opened as PacBell Park, changed its name to SBC Park, and now we know it as AT&T Park. Naming rights are not for fans, but this beautiful ballpark on the corner of 3rd and King streets most certainly is - from the statues of Giants Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal outside, to the picturesque views of the bay that can be seen from many seats.

5. The Giants family: On a recent trip to Spring Training, my son and I also got to attended a dinner with other Giants fans that included a Q&A with a couple of players. The point? We spent three hours in a room full of strangers and couldn't have felt more at home. Everyone there seemed like an old friend I'd known since childhood.

6. The Shot Heard 'Round the World: Every baseball fan has heard Russ Hodges call Bobby Thomson's homer from the Polo Grounds in 1951: "There's a long drive ... it's gonna be, I believe ... the Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!"

7. The Dodgers rivalry: I love to hate Tommy Lasorda. Oh, it's great to watch Don Mattingly bumble his way into underachieving with the highest payroll in baseball. It's fun to be a part of a heated baseball rivalry.

8. Food: Every ballpark has its staples. At AT&T, most people make a beeline for the garlic fries. I prefer a Sheboygan bratwurst and a Gordon Biersch.

9. Splash hits: McCovey Cove, where slugger Barry Bonds dunked so many baseballs they had to put a counter on the right field wall.

10. Bonds: Speaking of Bonds, well despite his controversies, he's ours. When Bonds signed as a free agent in the winter of 1992, it was the mark of new owner Peter Magowan, who saved the team from relocating to Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg. I almost hit the ceiling when I got the news that Bonds had signed with San Francisco.

11. Timmy: Tim Lincecum will always be a fan favorite. It was the long-haired kid who took the reins at the end of the Bonds era. Lincecum won two Cy Young awards in electric fashion before becoming the ace of a World Series-winning staff. His heater doesn't buzz like it used to, but the fans love him.

12. Championships: Nothing will compare to the 2010 World Series when the Giants beat the Texas Rangers in five games to claim their first trophy since moving to San Francisco. Kuiper's radio call said it best:

"Swing and a miss! And that's it! The Giants ... for the first time in 52 years the Giants are world champions as they come pouring out of the dugout! ... and you can't help but think, that this group is celebrating for the Say Hey Kid, for Will the Thrill, celebrating for Number 25, and celebrating for you Giants fans, wherever you are. ... Giants fans ... this party is just getting started!"

Contact reporter Keith Reid at (209) 546-8257 or kreid@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/edublog and on Twitter @KReidme.